American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by RMR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• RMR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 17.2% in Q2, now holding 6,260 shares worth approximately $1,997,000.
• Insider selling activity was notable, with CEO Stephen J. Squeri selling 112,272 shares valued at over $37 million, resulting in a 54.74% decrease in his ownership.
• Research analysts have set new price targets for American Express, with a consensus target price now at $323.60 after various upgrades and ratings changes.

RMR Capital Management LLC cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 17.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,260 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,298 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.4% of RMR Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. RMR Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.60.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $332.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $231.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $323.37 and a 200 day moving average of $300.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.

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